Sooners

Sooners stymied: The Sooners entered with one of the nation's top offenses, especially in the red zone. They had scored points 76 of 80 trips inside the 20, including 69 touchdowns. It was why the Sooners scored an NCAA-record 702 points this season, but they had problems against the Gators. Not only did they not score on their opening possession for just the third time this season, the Sooners failed to get any points on twice appearances in the red zone. After the Gators goal-line stand, the Sooners threatened just before halftime.

A couple suffers injuries in a car accident and receives a settlement in a lawsuit. Insurance won't cover all their bills and they need to make changes to their home, now that one partner is confined to a wheelchair. So they turn to a company that buys "structure settlements" resulting from a lawsuit or personal injury matter to access their money that otherwise is paid out over many years through an annuity. One growing company in the industry is Lauderhill-based 123 Lump Sum. The 13-year old business generates $30 million in annual revenues and employs more than 100 people.

Quarterback Sam Bradford doesn't lack targets in Oklahoma's high-powered offense. His favorites are well-established. After leading receiver Juaquin Iglesias (69 catches, 1,092 yards), nobody caught more passes for more yardage than junior tight end Jermaine Gresham. The 6-foot-6, 261-pound Gresham modestly regards himself as "just another read in the offense," but he's provided much more. He caught 58 passes for 888 yards and 12 touchdowns. With 24 career touchdown receptions, Gresham is the Sooners' all-time leader at his position.

With the mayor and two council seats up for grabs, nobody wants to go on the record predicting if more than the usual low show of city voters will turn out for the Boca Raton Municipal Election on Tuesday. With 53,000 registered voters, only 6,851 came out to vote in 2012 for incumbent Councilman Anthony Majhess, who won, or his challenger Frank Chapman. A low turnout is a Boca Raton tradition. In 2009, Majhess won against M.J. "Mike" Arts with 6,672 voting, and Councilwoman Constance Scott won against Mitch Fogel with 6,629 votes.

The Oklahoma Sooners arrived in South Florida on Friday about 45 minutes earlier than expected. They hope it's the beginning to a fast start in preparation for facing Florida in the BCS National Championship Game at Dolphin Stadium on Thursday. "Flight time wasn't as much as we'd thought it'd be," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "Now that we're down here and on our way to practice and obviously it's getting closer, I'm sure we'll focus." While they plan to enjoy things such as "putting their feet in the sand" on the beach, they realize they are here for a bigger goal.

When Howard Schnellenberger was hired as coach at Oklahoma in December 1994, he was convinced he would quickly lead the Sooners back to greatness, and he was not shy about saying it. "There will be movies made and books written about what we will do here," Schnellenberger said in his heavy-on-hyperbole style. So began his undoing. Schnellenberger would last just one season, resigning the following December after the Sooners went 5-5-1. That year remains the lone stain on Schnellenberger's college coaching resume, and still is something that neither Schnellenberger nor many in Oklahoma enjoy revisiting.

Memphis State neutralized the highest-scoring player on the highest-scoring major college team in the nation Saturday and, with its 63-61 upset of Oklahoma, advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Wayman Tisdale, the Sooners` three-time All-America center, was boxed, hounded and sometimes pummeled by an aggressive defense. Tisdale took only 10 shots, making only 5, and wound up with only 11 points. His teammates were unable to take up the slack. So Oklahoma (30-6), which had produced the best scoring average in Division I regular-season games (91.2 points a game)

Oklahoma linebacker Torrance Marshall will have the most unlikely cheerleader when the Sooners try to win the national championship in the FedEx Orange Bowl Classic showdown with Florida State on Jan. 3 at Pro Player Stadium. Marshall's brother, Sheven, is a linebacker at the University of Miami. The Hurricanes need FSU to defeat the Sooners to have a shot at the national championship, but apparently, Sheven won't root against family. "Sheven's been supporting us," Marshall said. "He's probably the only person in Miami."

UConn remains on course to go down as one of the best women's basketball teams of all-time. The No. 1 and undefeated Huskies took care of Tennessee 79-56 in the semifinals of the Final Four on Friday night and will meet Oklahoma on Sunday night in the championship game. The Sooners defeated Duke 86-71 to make it to their first NCAA title game. If UConn (38-0) defeats Oklahoma (32-3), it would tie the 1998 Tennessee team for the most wins in NCAA history. It would also be the fourth undefeated season for a women's basketball team, and second for coach Geno Auriemma, who guided the 1995 Huskies to a 35-0 record and the school's first national championship.

With 2:26 left in the third quarter, Oklahoma had a 27-0 lead over Nebraska. Todd Carpenter was awaiting the Sooners` kickoff when a big orange balloon floated near. He grabbed it, and it popped. So much for the Cornhuskers` national championship hopes. About 30 minutes later, Oklahoma nose tackle Tony Casillas marched into the Sooners` dressing room sucking on an orange, appropriately, because his team`s march to a national championship has plenty of juice left. Such scenes told the story of No. 3 (United Press International)

Marlins general manager Dan Jennings told MLB Network Radio on Sirius/XM Thursday afternoon the sooner the club can lock in Giancarlo Stanton to a long-term deal, the better. Stanton's future in Miami beyond 2014 was among the subjects Jennings addressed with Jim Bowden and Holden Kushner on "Inside Pitch. " In his first year of arbitration eligibility, Stanton and the Marlins agreed to a $6.5 million, one-year contract. Stanton won't be eligible for free agency until after 2016.

I got lots of response to today's print column on the Dolphins' failed bid to get public dollars for their proposed renovation of Sun Life Stadium. It just goes to show that people get more worked up about their sports teams than just about anything else (except pets). I wanted to make a couple more points about the Dolphins bid. The team basically went to a hurry-up offense, not starting until January and needing to get everything lined up by the NFL owners meeting in late May when Super Bowls 50 and 51 will be awarded.

Express lanes appear to be on the fast track, coming to Interstate 95 north of Fort Lauderdale much sooner than officials anticipated. Plans are in the works to expand the tolled lanes as far north as Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach . Although construction isn't scheduled to begin until 2021, officials are pushing aggressively to move the start date much sooner. "The future is a lot closer than we thought. We've had success in operating the express lanes, and we're eager to extend that," said John Olson, of the Florida Department of Transportation.

After a couple thousand years of hatred and bitterness and mistrust and fighting, it's doubtful President Obama's short visit to the Middle East this week is going to magically produce peace. But I still find it amazing that this is his first visit to Israel since he's been president. We're talking over four years folks. If Israel is our strongest ally in the critical Middle East - which it obviously is - and the situation there has been a hotbed of violence forever, shouldn't' Obama have been there much earlier?

- The central Florida man accused of stealing more than 50 batteries from commercial trucks around Broward County could have been caught halfway through his monthlong crime spree, according to the scrap yard manager who later learned he'd bought some of the stolen property. Sean Harrigan of Capital Scrap in Deerfield Beach said he "smelled something fishy" when Thomas Shipley showed up every morning with a bunch of heavy-duty batteries to sell. "He's a one-man crime wave," Harrigan said.

DAVIE - Fiedler. Lucas. Rosenfels. Griese (no, not him, the other Griese). Feeley. Culpepper. Harrington. Lemon. Green. Beck. White. Henne. The ne'er-do-well hopes of Dolphins quarterbacks. The endless list of a lost decade. Kiss those ghosts good-bye, folks. Ryan Tannehill took the field for his second straight practice Monday and made them start to disappear when he flung the ball over the field. Too soon, you say? Come on. What's the expression, in for a dime, in for a dollar?

Posted by Shandel Richardson on October 3, 2009 06:39 PM, October 3, 2009

The Hurricanes have a chance to become the "It" team in South Florida. The Dolphins are struggling. The Marlins are done. The Heat has little buzz. With a win, UM will be 3-1 and once again on the cusp of a Top 10 ranking. The Hurricanes will have exceeded expectations as they enter the remainder of looks to be a softer schedule. But this won't be easy. Even though the Sooners are without quarterback Sam Bradford, who didn't dress, they still are a formidable opponent. Kickoff is about 20 minutes away.

Joe Castiglione had barely begun shaving when he watched Oklahoma defeat Michigan 14-6 in his first Orange Bowl Classic 25 years ago. A St. Thomas High graduate, Castiglione was working his way through school, running the parking valet at Inverrary Country Club, where he got to know Jackie Gleason, a member and resident there. He liked Castiglione enough to hire him to work private parties at the Gleason home. Castiglione once watched Gleason run the table and beat the great Willie Mosconi in a game of pool.

Major changes should make heading west on Interstate 595 a lot smoother, a lot sooner than expected. It'll be a lot easier to merge onto northbound Florida's Turnpike. A new elevated ramp system will put some exit ramps on bridges over on-ramps. No more fighting with cars entering the highway while you're trying to exit and vice-versa. And the missing link of S.R. 84 will be completed. There's a small catch: You'll have to endure some pain a little longer in exchange for a bigger reward by the end of the year.

Even after brief relief brought by weekend rains, most South Florida water supplies remain well below normal — adding to the strain of a record-setting drought. Groundwater monitoring wells in Broward and Palm Beach counties show water levels in the lowest 10 percent compared with the usual average for this time of year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The calendar and the cycle of afternoon showers that gained frequency last weekend indicate that South Florida has moved into the summer rainy season, but the driest October-to-June on record still leaves the region struggling with a water-supply strain.